Ben Gazzara

Originally published in the Britannica Book of the Year. Presented as archival content. Learn more.

This article was originally published in the Britannica Book of the Year, an annual print publication that
provides an overview of the year’s most-notable people and events.
Unlike most articles on Britannica.com, Book of the Year articles are not reviewed and revised after their initial publication.
Rather, they are presented on the site as archival content, intended for historical reference only.

Alternative Title:
Biagio Anthony Gazzara

Ben Gazzara, (Biagio Anthony Gazzara), American actor (born Aug. 28, 1930, New York, N.Y.—died Feb. 3, 2012, New York City), was distinguished by his gravelly voice and brooding screen and stage presence. During his more than 60 years in show business, he enjoyed a career on Broadway, originating the role of Brick in the 1955 production of Tennessee Williams’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; on television, as the terminally ill lawyer in the series Run for Your Life (1965–68); and in films, notably The Strange One (1957), Anatomy of a Murder (1959), and Saint Jack (1979). Gazzara, a method actor, made his Broadway debut in End as a Man, portraying the sadistic bully Jocko. He played drug addict Johnny Pope in A Hatful of Rain, which earned him a Tony Award nomination. He also appeared in three well-received films directed by John Cassavetes: Husbands (1970), The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976), and Opening Night (1977). In the 1980s Gazzara also began making movies in Italy. Noteworthy American films of the 1990s include The Spanish Prisoner (1997), The Big Lebowski (1998), and Summer of Sam (1999). He won an Emmy Award (in a supporting role) for the movieHysterical Blindness (2002). Gazzara published his autobiography, In the Moment, in 2004.